Truth Among Men
by twinmomma78
Summary: Castle has a couple of beers with Ryan and Esposito after the shock of seeing Beckett kiss Demming. Conversation confirms what the detectives had already figured out.


_**I know that "Overkill" really drove a lot of people crazy…watching Beckett get closer and closer to Demming was very disheartening for everyone I know who loves the show…and especially for Castle! I mean, come on, that kiss was fairly innocent, but it smacked him in the face with reality. Here's my take on what could have happened after Beckett left the precinct for the night…the conversation kind of plays off the theory that the guys are the male equivalent of Sex & The City. **_

Still reeling from seeing Beckett kiss Demming in the back hallway, Castle didn't notice her passing by the break room as he stumbled away from the scene he'd witnessed. But she had noticed him walking through the break room and stopped at the door to acknowledge him, unaware that he was stunned.

"Castle? What are you still doing here?" she asked, watching him fumble his coffee cup.

"Hey, I was just about to leave myself," he said. Stumbling over his speechlessness, he grasped at the message he had intended to give her when he had initially gone looking for her. "Good job closing the case"

"Yeah, well, we make a good team," Beckett replied.

"Yeah," Castle answered. "Good night."

"Good night," Beckett said as she left the precinct.

Once she was gone, Castle set the coffee cup safely back down on the counter. What on earth had just happened to him?

_Demming,_ he thought. _Demming had happened. Demming had moved in on my territory…Homicide's territory, he corrected…gotten involved in the case and gotten way too close to Kate._ Not that Kate was his, of course. _Why should I care that Kate's spending so much time with Demming, anyway? She's a grown woman, she can make her own choices._

Sighing, Castle realized that he had to stop fighting against himself. He cared because it was Kate. And somewhere along the way, between investigations and arguments, after a solid friendship had started with her and after he had pulled her from her devastated apartment, he had started caring a lot more than he'd ever thought possible. Running his hands through his hair, he shook his head and shuffled back to the office where Ryan and Esposito were finishing up paperwork.

"What are you guys up to now?" he asked, walking in.

"Well, I should be heading home so I can see my girl," Ryan said. "Right after I go scrub my face clean to try and keep from developing a capillary disorder…"

"Oh, come on, you're really still going to hold that on me?" Castle said. "I had no idea that the stuff was toxic…I've been using it a lot longer than you guys!"

Esposito smirked as he rose from his seat. "Whatever bro, you owe us."

"You're right, I do," Castle said, eyes lighting up when he realized that heading home wasn't his only option. "How about I buy you guys a round of drinks? I'd like to make things up to you, and thank you for helping me with the case today."

"Sounds like a plan," Esposito said, glancing at Ryan. Ryan shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

"I can probably make time for one drink," Ryan said. "Especially if it's a peace offering."

Twenty minutes later, they were comfortably sitting back in a booth at a local pub. The waitress brought a pitcher of beer to their table and set six shots on the table next to it. Pouring glasses, she smiled at the three well-dressed men before heading back to the bar. Raising his drink, Castle toasted the guys and tried to ignore the heaviness of his heart.

"Here's to Damian Wilder," he said, speaking of the man whose murder had just been successfully solved. "Because he tried to do the right thing, and should at least get credit for it." They drank deeply, then sat quietly for a moment.

"OK, Castle, spill it," Esposito said.

"What?" Castle said, genuinely caught off guard.

"Come on, man, it's not like Ryan and I are blind. We know things must have been pretty tough for you the last couple of days, having to work with my man Demming and all."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Castle said, trying to change the subject.

Ryan sat forward in his seat, propping his elbow on the table between them. "Just for the record, you haven't forgotten that we're detectives, have you? Because part of our job description is to be observant. And we've been noticing things…" Glancing at Esposito, he got the nod that confirmed his statement.

Esposito spoke up again, "Look, man, I'm not going to tell you what to do. I like Demming. I think he's a good guy. But we think you're a good guy, too. If you're interested in Beckett, you can't just sit back and let her walk away."

"I'm not letting her walk away," Castle said. "She was never with me to begin with. Besides, I think she's more than a little involved with Demming, and he makes her happy. I've got to respect that."

"Wow," Ryan said, setting down his drink. "I thought you liked her…I didn't realize it was more than that!"

"What?" Castle said. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Esposito reached over and pushed a shot toward Castle. "I'm agreeing with Ryan, bro. You've got it bad."

"I am so lost right now…what are you guys talking about?"

"Castle, you have already moved on to the 'I just want her to be happy' stage of the process," Ryan explained. "I may not have as much experience with this kind of thing, but given that I'm in a stable relationship with Jenny and things have been going well for a while now, I think I can honestly say you are pretty much head over heels for Beckett."

"We've been here five minutes and you're already talking drunk," Castle said. "I'm not…I can't be…that would just be…"

Esposito raised an eyebrow at Ryan, then smiled. "Ah yes, the classic denial attempt. Man, you are sunk. You mean to tell me after all the time you've spent with Beckett, you've never seriously acted on it and told her you were interested?"

"But I thought you spent the night at her apartment, when Dunn was on the loose and pursuing her?" Ryan asked. "You mean to tell me that nothing happened? At all?"

"I was there out of concern for her, that's all," Castle said. "Nothing happened."

"But…there were pancakes…" Ryan looked devastated at the realization that nothing had happened between Castle, who was normally so smooth with women, and Beckett.

"You two have always had this underlying tension," Esposito pointed out. "I think we've all been just waiting for that to surface. Are you just off your game or what?"

Castle shrugged his shoulders and poured himself another beer, topping off the glasses of the guys as well. "I think that's the problem. I've always been fortunate with the fairer sex. Women and I have never had a problem getting along. It's always been completely simple. But this is different. This is complicated. This is…Beckett."

"Well, we've been working with Beckett for a while now," Ryan said. "We've seen her date…not often, but we've seen her date from time to time. I think it's safe to say she's like a sister to us now. Even though if you ever repeat that to her, they'll never find your body."

Esposito picked up where Ryan left off, "I think what Ryan's trying to say is, we're protective of her. We want what's best for her. We don't want to see her get hurt."

"I don't plan on hurting her," Castle said calmly. "I don't plan to do anything. She's with Demming. She's happy. That has to be enough."

"Yo, listen, I'm not saying that Demming's not a great guy, because he is," Esposito replied. "I've known him for a while now, and he's a good guy. But it's not like they're getting married next week, you know?"

Castle peeled his eyes off his beer for a moment and looked at Esposito, slightly confused. "So what are you trying to say?"

"You've got to throw your hat in the ring, man," Esposito said. "Come clean. Otherwise she may never know how you really feel about her."

"Who knows?" Ryan added. "She might just have some unresolved feelings for you, too."

"Think on it, bro," Esposito said. "We're not going to say anything more, just telling you that it might be worth a shot to see what could happen."

"Thanks, guys," Castle said. "I appreciate your help in letting me talk this out. It's kind of all new to me."

"Oh yeah," Ryan said, nodding at Esposito. "He's got it worse than I thought. He's in unfamiliar territory."

Castle set some bills on the table to cover their tab and the waitress's tip, then got ready to leave. Laughing quietly to himself, he stopped and said, "You know, Beckett and Lanie said we reminded them of Sex And The City when we were at Wilder's apartment. Thought that was odd, but I have to admit that it's nice to have some guys I can talk to, confide in."

"Glad we could help ya, man," Esposito said. "But if you ever try to get me to shop for shoes with you, I'm drawing the line."

"Understood," Castle said, getting up from the table. "You guys have a good night…I'm going to call a cab and get home before my daughter sends out a search party for me." He walked from the restaurant slowly, but with a sense of contemplation.

"So do you think he knows it's absolutely love?" Ryan muttered to Esposito. "I mean, really the big L?"

"Not a chance, bro," Esposito replied, watching Castle climb into a cab. "But it's going to be entertaining watching him figure it all out."


End file.
